Overview

Numerous movies, YouTube videos, books, and public service announcements have begun to address people with narcolepsy, and this discourse has led to greater visibility and understanding about an often-misunderstood condition. In Narratives of Narcolepsy in Everyday Life: Exploring Intricacies of Identity, Sleepiness, and Place, Nicole Eugene draws on in-depth interviews, participant observation, and field notes to examine life with narcolepsy, with a particular focus on how certain socially-defined places play significant roles in determining the meaning of sleepiness, medication side effects, and other narcolepsy symptoms. Eugene also includes one autoethnographic essay that explores her own experiences with narcolepsy as a Black woman, refracted through the lens of the various places where sleepiness may arise. Throughout the book, an emphasis on making sense of narcolepsy by communicating with others with the condition demonstrates a peer-based approach to researching health communication and disabilities. Drawing on feminist disability studies, health communication, narrative inquiry, and autoethnography, this book is an example of interpretive qualitative communication research that renders the lives of vulnerable people with compassion and understanding.

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9781666913187

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Reviews

""Nicole Eugene beautifully renders stories of narcolepsy in rich detail, deftly blended with thoughtful connections to disability theory and research. This gem of a book illuminates experiences of Eugene and her research participants in navigating complex embodiment in the face of stigma and misunderstanding, highlighting racialized and gendered aspects of hidden disability in public and private spaces. A must-read for health communication and disability communication scholars, as well as anyone interested in autoethnographic methods--I couldn't put it down!"" -- Laura Ellingson, Santa Clara University

"""Nicole Eugene beautifully renders stories of narcolepsy in rich detail, deftly blended with thoughtful connections to disability theory and research. This gem of a book illuminates experiences of Eugene and her research participants in navigating complex embodiment in the face of stigma and misunderstanding, highlighting racialized and gendered aspects of hidden disability in public and private spaces. A must-read for health communication and disability communication scholars, as well as anyone interested in autoethnographic methods--I couldn't put it down!"" -- Laura Ellingson, Santa Clara University"

Author Information

Nicole Eugene is assistant professor of communication at the University of Houston-Victoria.

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